How does Thomas Cook's bankruptcy affect the tourism sector in Mexico?

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(Expansion) - Cancun was one of the destinations offered by the travel agency Thomas Cook and even when it declared bankruptcy and the cessation of operations on Monday, the Mexican tourism industry will not be affected, said the Ministry of Tourism of Mexico (Sectur).

The Riviera Maya and Cancun were among the agency's most popular destinations, the oldest in the world, whose bankruptcy affects about 600,000 tourists around the planet.

However, the agency explained in a statement that the highest season for the firm was from April to September of this year -with 70% of its offer-, so that the loss of reservations at the destination from October to December This year it would be 23 million dollars, which would represent just 0.1% of the total annual income of the sector.

Passengers line up at the closed counter of the Thomas Cook agency at the airport in Cancun, Mexico, on September 23. (ELIZABETH RUIZ / AFP / Getty Images)

Pablo Azcárraga, president of the National Tourism Business Council (CNET), said that although the damage would not be serious for the tourism sector, there will be a slight affectation, given that the English market is the third most important for Mexico, behind the United States and Canada

“In addition, this is a reflection of how tourism is a difficult industry, it is a competitive industry that has had major major changes due to technological transformations. When there are companies that are affected by the way in which the consumer acquires a product or chooses their trips, we must consider incorporating the technology to be more competitive, ”he explained.

The Thomas Cook agency offered an average of 112,864 airplane seats annually, the Sectur said. From January to July of this year, 401 flights were made with a total of 122,894 passengers.

“We can point out that in all of 2018, Thomas Cook generated income for Mexico, due to tourist spending, of 100 million dollars. This amount corresponds to a marginal participation of only 0.4% of the total income of foreign exchange for tourism that the country received last year, ”said the agency.

Conrad Bergwerf, president of the Hotel Association of the Riviera Maya, added that they work with the civil aviation authority of the United Kingdom to support tourists who were staying in different facilities in the area, in order to avoid being stranded .

From Monday, when the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook was declared, the Cancun International Airport also began using Terminal 4 of the complex for the transfer of English citizens through airlines such as Aeromexico, Virgin and British Airways.

The company accumulated a debt of 2,100 million dollars and needed to sell three million vacation trips a year just to cover interest payments. Although it presented a restructuring plan with which the Chinese conglomerate Fosun would have taken control of its activities, the $ 1.120 million pledged by the parties were not enough. The company needed another 250 million to continue its activities.

Thomas Cook